Thrift Store Finds

You all know by now how much I LOVE thrifting...finding anything at a bargain price is a SCORE for me!  Decorating on a budget can be tough, but I find thrifting the best way to find things for my home that don't break the bank.

Last week I found a couple of great things while out on my own.

This enamel jug for $3.99 that now houses my kitchen utensils by the stove.

This letter sorter.

I sprayed it black and am using it as a mini command center in the kitchen.

I also picked up a cute shelf for $5.99.  It's going to be used in the kitchen renovation which will be starting soon!  Don't you just love the scrolled brackets!

This week I found this great green glass leaf dish.

...and this wine crate from a local winery for $6.99.

I have been wanting this organizer for my make-up, but I didn't want to pay the $99 for it

Source

I had McG take out the diagonal wood supports that hold the wine bottles and turn them up and down to create an organizer for my make-up.

I used some containers I had around the house for now, but I am on the look out for some wicker baskets or metal containers to get the look.

I wanted to update you on that chair that wicker chair that I rescued from the side of the road a few weeks ago.  Here's the before...

...and here it is now!  I gave it a fresh coat of paint and then McG rebuilt the springs and recovered it.
It now has a home in the spare bedroom.  Total cost for this transformation was $10 for the spray paint.  The fabric I had here already.

I'd love to see what you've thrifted...please send me a comment or a link so I can check it out!

Cheryl

Linking up @:

Bliss Ranch

Using up some leftover paint...

If you follow with Facebook, you saw on Sunday that I started work on our fireplace.

I posted a sneak peek and expected to hear from many of you telling me not to paint it.

Even McG was skeptical - brick, like wood, according to him, should never be painted.

I was taking my chances.  We had discussed taking out the brick and replacing it with some

of the new light weight stone options that they have on the market.  I knew that this could be

done for almost FREE since I had paint left over from the master bathroom project.

And if I didn't like it, we could always take it down and replace it.

Here's what she looked like before...

This was in her Christmas glory...red reclaimed brick with oak trim and carmel colored concrete inset.

I decided I wanted to freshen her up and give her a lighter and brighter feel.

I grabbed the leftover craft paint that I had from doing the bathroom countertop project.

I put some onto a paper plate and used a damp round sponge to paint each brick individually.

Here she is as I started...

The afternoon sun was making the paint look blue in every picture I took, but I assure you, in person she is a lovely grey.

Once I had finished painting the brick, I used some of the leftover wall paint from the bathroom project as well.  I painted out the caramel concrete section that lovely light grey.

This room makeover is not on the list to complete for sometime, but I couldn't wait to see how painting this out would change the feel of the room...

I'm very pleased with how it turned out and can't wait until we paint out this room as well.

Are you using leftover paint in any projects at your house?  I'd love to hear about them!

Cheryl

Linking Up @:
Bless'er House
Embracing Change
It's Overflowing

ALMOST THERE....Master Bath Reveal!!

Boy it seems like forever since we started this bathroom makeover!!

It's not quite finished yet, but I decided I can't wait any longer to share...LOL!  

McG is working on the crown molding which is proving to be a little more difficult than we expected as most of the walls are not square...go figure!!

Anyway I will let the pictures tell the story...

Here's a look back at the "BEFORE"

 Peach and mint green wallpaper, walnut cabinets and trim, 
shower doors with sailboats etched on the glass,

 and white four inch wall tile on the floor.

and now for the "AFTER"...

There's still some trim details to be finished but I have to say that I am in LOVE with this room.  

It's probably my favourite one of all the rooms that McG and I have done so far to any of our houses.  

The transformation of this room is just magical. 

 And knowing that we did all of this on a tight budget makes me so happy!

Don't you just LOVE how it turned out??!!

Cheryl

Linking Up @:
Coastal Charm
Our Home Away From Home
Bless'er House

New Additions to the Office

A couple of weeks ago, McG and I went to Michigan for the day with some friends of ours to do some shopping and have dinner. 

 I always enjoy going over with another couple, because it gives McG someone to hang with while we ladies are hitting stores like Kirkland's, Home Goods, Hobby Lobby...and such!!

I found a pair of tablecloths at Big Lots that I just had to have! 

 I love tablecloths as a no-sew curtain option. 

 These were 60 x 84 as you can see...and with the addition of some ring clips they make a great statement curtain panel!

The room I am using for my office used to be my son's bedroom, but now he's decided to take up residence in a basement bedroom.  I have shown you this room before, but I have added a few pieces in here...and these "curtains" will help tie the room together.  The colours are warm - with reds, rusts, beige and brown - and just a hint of gold.  The wall colour in here is called "Straw" and is a golden tan/khaki colour.

The curtains co-ordinate lovely with the fabric on my chair...I don't know the name of it since its been on the chair since I was a teenager almost 30 years ago!!

The walls in these pictures seems to show up as more yellow in these photos, however, it was hard to take a picture today with the sun streaming in..I had to close the blinds a bit and use the flash.  I have added the loveseat that was in the living room to this room.  I also completed a make-shift gallery wall with all the artwork that seems to be collecting in this room from other parts of the house.  Rather than stack them on shelves as they wait to be used again, I figured I would hang them up!

I really love how the curtains add some needed colour and warmth to the room...I am always on the lookout for tablecloths at a reasonable price.  They are definitely an economical way to add life to a room!

Have you ever used tablecloths as curtains in your home?

Cheryl

An Update on our Dirty Little Secret - A Laundry Room Reveal!!

Okay, back many months ago...I showed this picture of "our dirty little secret"...this is the only photo I showed you..

I was not lucky enough to have the forethought to have a separate laundry and utility room...ours are combined.  And as a result I get the pleasure of looking at exposed pipes and the furnace and hot water tank everytime I spend time in my laundry room.  Here is some more of what it looked like BEFORE...get ready for some scary stuff!

Storage was a major issue in here, so that was my main objective in doing this laundry room - that and it was just dark and dingy. 

 As it seems I spend a fair bit of my time in this room, it was time for an overhaul. 

We are keeping it real in these photos...cat litter box and all!!

McG and I have worked some magic over the last couple of months and now it's looking much better. 

 Is it my DREAM laundry room?

  NO - but it is a lot more pleasant to do laundry now - take a look!

We did some re-arranging and were able to block of some of the view of the furnace, but the hot water tank could not be covered...apparently that would be a fire hazard.  We also couldn't do anything with the ceiling.  The pipes and ductwork are just at too many different levels to be able to be done in our budget. 

 However, we were able to tile the floor!

 These are press and peel vinyl tiles that look like Travertine - they were 89 cents a piece on sale.

 The whole room cost just $75.

McG finished the drywall seams and painted the room with the leftover paint from the living room. 

He also took two leftover doors from our media cabinet makeover and covered the electrical panel. 

 A definite improvement!

  He took out the ugly counter and sink and in its place installed a shelving/folding table made from 2 hotel headboards that we bought at the Habitat ReStore for $10 each.  I used that great vintage bed sheet that I bought for 50 cents on our trip to the cottage earlier this month to make a skirt to cover the shelves.

The two white cabinets above were made from cutting in half a cheap pantry cupboard our daughter used to have in her bedroom.  It was sitting in McG's workout room, so that was FREE!!

 The "laundry" artwork was picked up at The Christmas Tree Shop for just 75 cents. 

 The floral canvas I had here already.

 Here's a close-up of the sheet...I mean curtain...and below is a closer look at the headboards we used for the shelving.

The raised edge is perfect and helps to keep my laundry baskets from falling off.

We moved the little freezer to the side wall and added the two white cabinets that used to be over the sink.  We took out the shelving that used to be between them and screwed them together before hanging them on this wall.  We also brought in an old bookcase that used to belong to McG's parents - it houses some storage for my scrapbooking supplies and other items that had no home.  It too got a curtain from that 50 cent bed sheet!

Here's a look at that whole corner from another angle.

Our storage issues were definitely addressed and there is no more staring at extra toilet paper and paper towel rolls in this room.  It has a calm feeling that makes doing the laundry a little bit nicer!

Cost breakdown for this project:

flooring $75

2 headboards for the shelving $20

sheet for making curtains 50 cents

laundry art 75 cents

paint - free

cabinets - free

TOTAL - $96.25

Have you completed a budget renovation lately??  I'd love to hear about it!

Cheryl
 Linking up @:
Designed Decor
The SITS Girls 
It's Overflowing 
Recreate and Decorate - DIY Sunday Showcase 
Seasonal Sundays @ The Tablescaper 
One More Time Events 
Creative Home and Garden Hop 
A Pretty Life in the Suburbs - Our Sundays Best 

Adding Colour to the Front Porch

Let's face it - like most of North America - we are having a weird spring...One of colder temperatures and lots of snow and now mostly rain...They are predicting rain here everyday this week with heavy thunderstorms towards the end of the week.

I took advantage of a lull in the rain yesterday to finish up cleaning the garden and to add some spring touches to our front porch.

You have seen my spring wreath and how I made it here.  

This is a reminder of what it looks like on my front door...

I also added a new spring flag that I purchased at Wal Mart when we were in Florida...this flag was $4.  That's a whole lot cheaper than the $22 it costs here in Canada!!

Cardinals are one of my favourite birds and I love how the colours look with our brick. 

 Here's a better look at it and the wreath on the front door.

I decided to bring out even more colour and used the flowers from my spring centerpiece, shown below...

...and added them to a planter that is kept by the front door.  

There are Stella-Dora day-lillies that are planted in this pot, however, they are not coming up yet and the addition of these silk flowers adds more spring colour to the porch while we wait for the warm weather to entice the day-lillies to sprout.

Here's a final view of the whole porch area...as you can tell the rain started again before I could finish up.

Even though the weather is cloudy and grey here in Ontario this week...my porch is sunny and bright with all the new spring additions!

Cheryl

Linking up @
A Stroll Thru Life
Kathe with an E
Tuesdays @ Our Home Away From Home
Fluster Buster